You may have heard already about the California guy that is in a lot of trouble now for practicing illegal plastic surgery out of an office in California. The man actually posed as an assistant to a real plastic surgeon, and claimed that he was able to offer cheaper prices to his clients because he did it under another sugeon’s supervision.

Well, that all ended up being a farce, because first off, he used the guy’s name and second, the guy did not give him any authorization to practice under him, nor did he supervise him.

So, this California man essentially posed as a professional and didn’t have any credentials to perform the work he was doing.  He didn’t follow sanitary guidelines, and he even reportedly injected young acne patient’s scars with an unknown substance, perhaps silicone, which is not supposed to be directly injected into the skin.

The man was even accused of smoking a cigar during one of his “procedures”.  Needless to say, this guy is in quite a bit of hot water over these accusations, and has thus far plead not guilty to the charges.

What’s the lesson in all this?  Well, if you are thinking about getting anything done, say to your acne scars, like fillers or other procedures like dermabrasion or laser therapy, just make 100% sure that the man or woman performing it are licensed and have good reputations.

The internet is really a perfect place to do your research, however, you can also just do your own investigation while you’re in the office, before you’ve even gotten the procedure.  Look for credentials – they are always displayed somewhere prominently on the wall.

Any licensed practitioner is going to want to make sure his customers can easily verify that they are in fact who they say they are, and that they have the proper educational and experience background to be able to perform the kind of work they are paying for.

Not only can you look for their credentials, but just talk to them. Get a feel for whether you have  rapport with this practitioner, and whether you trust them with your skin.  I remember going to Dermatologists as a kid who I had absolutely no trust in.

I felt they were just putting me on drugs and not really caring about whether my acne cleared or not, or even taking an interest in me as a patient. Of course, as a kid, you don’t have a lot of choice in your doctors, nor do you speak up if you don’t like your doctor, but as an adult you have a choice of who you trust and who you think is going to give you the best skin.

Fortunately for sufferers of acne, today there are a large number of smoothing treatments that can be used to smooth out skin layers and for clearing the appearance of acne scarring. There are two kinds of scars: pigmented and ice-pick.  Having acne for years can give your skin a rough texture in the areas where you had multiple lesions.  This bumpy texture is hard to get rid of, but there are some great treatments that naturally smooth the skin out in those areas.

Pigmented scarring treatment options range from over-the-counter products to treatment practices performed by medical professionals or aestheticians.

Home remedies can often be effective in the treatment of scarring. Soaking the face in a non-comodogenic oil will loosen dead and pigmented cells. The loosened cells can then be scrubbed off using a gentle exfoliant. You can increase the rate at which cells are regenerated by applying a solution of vitamin C to the face, which will also help with clearing the pores and improving the skin balance and tone.

Over-the-counter bleaching products containing hydroquinone can be used with glycolic acid-based creams to smooth the appearance of scarring. If the acne scars are particularly severe, or does not response to this treatment, another option may be retinoid creams.

These prevent further breakouts, but more importantly, will exfoliate skin-cells in the dermis, the site of scar formation.

Dermabrasion is one of the smoothing and clearing treatments that has rapidly grown in popularity in recent years. It entails the use of a brush or other instrument which vibrates at a very high speed, smoothing and resurfacing the uppermost layers of the surface and helping to remove scars or reduce the depth of the scars.

Patients undergoing this treatment usually require several days’ recovery time. A related treatment is micro-dermabrasion, a less intense and invasive form of dermabrasion. The dermatologist or aesthetician will use a spray comprised of microscopic crystals rather than a brush to remove the upper layers of the dermis.

While the delicate nature of dermabrasion treatments means that more than one procedure may be required, the benefit of this treatment is that recovery time is much reduced.

Chemical peels are also used to lessen the appearance of acne scars. It may be administered by a medical professional such as a doctor or nurse, or by a spa aesthetician. The peel removes the outer skin layers, smoothing the face’s surface.

The strength of the peel may vary depending on the severity of the scars, and some people experience irritation and peeling for a few days afterward.

Yes – you read correctly. I said “needles”.  Pretty much anything having to do with needles creeps me out to no end. I hate getting shots, am unable to give blood because of them, and don’t think I’d ever get Botox just because I really don’t like needles – they hurt and they’re just really brutal looking.

I associate needles with pain and discomfort, as many of us do. I’ve developed somewhat of a phobia to them because they almost never are associated with anything good – except maybe acupuncture, which I’ve never tried.

Well, I was moved to intrigue by reading about this little, roughly twenty dollar, device that has a bunch of “microneedles” on a roller that is supposed to help the skin.  The microneedles are really tiny, and they are made of stainless steel of course, because they actually are supposed to slightly penetrate the treated areas.

The microneedle skin device is on a little hand held roller that you literally roll all around on your face or other treated areas. Does it hurt? In my experience thus far, yes, there is definitely discomfort and an unpleasant feeling. Especially in certain areas that are more sensitive, like say the upper lip where there is very little fat to cushion the blow of a needle penetrating your skin.

So obviously you know by now, I bought one of them microneedle rollers for myself. I bought it because I read that it can help over time with things like fine lines, wrinkles, leftover acne scarring and age spots and hyperpigmentation.

I’ve used the microneedle derma roller exactly three times now. The first and third time I couldn’t get all the way through the whole prescribed regimen of rolling it ten times across one area and then ten times in an “X” pattern over the same areas.

As you are rolling it with normal pressure, you can sort of hear and feel the tiny needles making small punctures in the skin.  If you have really sensitive skin, it is recommended that you use a numbing cream. I did not use a numbing cream because I didn’t want all those chemicals on my face every time I used the roller, so I felt every little prick.

What is the idea behind the microneedle dermaroller? Well, it is supposed to help your skin treatments absorb much deeper and work much better.  But on another note, simply puncturing your skin in and of itself is probably another mechanism by which it works to smooth older scars and wrinkles out, and to break up things like age and liver spots, somewhat like the theory behind laser therapy for scarring, but not quite as effective.

The first time I used it, my husband said I looked younger the next day. The second and third I didn’t notice any differences the next day. I’m hoping as time goes by I can get better results with regular use. I plan on using it twice a week – on the weekends, so I don’t necessarily have to go anywhere for a few hours if I’m all red and irritated.

Hello readers! I have a guest post today for you.  Enjoy!

For those who suffered acne during their teenage years may have outgrown it, but some people are left with scars that can still bring back bad memories and still make you feel just as self conscious as you did when you were younger.

If you still have acne, it may be best to handle your acne first before taking steps to get rid of scars, as procedures and treatments could make your skin more aggravated.
As most of you know from reading my previous blog posts that I believe in the more natural, gentle treatments to help achieve clear skin and prevent acne. Here are some ways to help achieve clear skin and get rid of acne scars.

Drink glasses of water

Drinking water is not the most interesting solution, but there’s a reason why it’s mentioned and repeated everywhere. It actually helps clear your skin, as well as it being great for cleansing your whole body. Lemon water and its vitamins and nutrients are something that has been mentioned in my blog before, but just a few squeezes in warm water can really help your skin as well as increase your metabolism during the day.

You are what you eat

Eating colourful fruit and vegetables will not only help clear your skin from acne, but also from cellulite. Fruit and veg have other health benefits due to all the antioxidants that are packed in them. If you are thinking of going tee total, then why not kick out caffeine from your diet and stop smoking. Caffeine can prevent your body making full use of the vitamins and minerals that you get from your food and smoking is not only bad for your health, but can stop your skin getting fed the nutrients.

Treatments

There are many different options for treating acne scars. One of the treatments include laser resurfacing, which can be quite harsh on your skin and takes a couple of weeks recovering time.

Some people have steroid injections on deeper forms of acne or augmentation to inject collagen into the scared area to improve the appearance of the skin, but it’s not permanent. Another treatment is having dermaquest skin therapy, which peels stimulate collagen and induce exfoliation – this is essential for healthy skin and is also permanent.   Like any other treatments, you should do your research, and speak to an expert dermatologist before making a decision on any procedures.

There was some buzz a few months ago about a plant that has been used to safely whiten skin for those who want fairer complexions. Whitening creams today commonly contain hydroquinone and mercury, both of which are known cancer causing agents. In fact, hydroquinone has been linked to the development of certain types of skin cancer, which makes it an automatic no go on my list.

Since skin lightening and whitening products are still in large demand by people desiring to lighten their skin tone (funny, many of us want tans, and here are people trying to get whiter skin).  So, naturally, companies want to find a way to capitalize on the demand, but also to offer something they can tell their customers is safe AND also effective at lightening their skin tone.

Well, the cinnammomum subavenium (say that ten times fast, bet ya can’t) plant just may be the naturally based breakthrough the asetheticians all over the world would be clamoring for in the products they use to help patients lighten skin, or the products that are on the shelves already to switch to a safer technology that also is very effective for in home skin lightening.

This plant could also have some uses for those of us with pigmented acne scarring that needs to be lightened to match the rest of the skin. Many times acne scars leave read marks on the face for months or even years, or even lifetimes. It’s not just the divots and ice pick scars, but also the hyperpigmentation that goes with acne prone skin later in life that causes so much duress amongst former acne sufferers.

I for one still believe that in home acne scarring treatment is one of the best ways to treat scars successfully. They can contain home microdermabrasion kits, which I have found has helped my acne scarring immensely.

The action of scrubbing away the top layers of skin helps both hyperpigmentation (skin darkness or discolorations), as well as the pock marking that often happens where the skin develops depressions where acne lesions used to be, since it often does not grow back evenly where a lesion occurred due to trauma around that area (such as breaking the zit open before it’s ready to come to a head, one of the biggest no no’s of the acne world).

This new plant could very well be an exciting development in the world of acne scarring treatments, so we’ll be sure to keep you posted if we hear any more!

A few years back, I visited a cosmetic dermatologist who offered a service that basically looked at your skin and rated it in various categories such as tone, color, sun damage, scarring, wrinkles and more.  The information they gathered that helped them to come up with a sort of “score” was your age, and some basics about the history of your skin, your sun exposure habits, and other things that could impact the health and condition of your skin’s outward appearance.

So, at the time I was in my early thirties, and I came out with a pretty nice score that I was happy with.  I was in a “percentile” of others my age, so to speak.  One thing about having problem skin, especially acne, when you are younger, is that you tend to take really good care of your skin all your life when you experience something like that.

I made sure my skin was always hydrated, because my skin would look even worse when it was dried out on top of having problems with occasional acne as I got older and my skin got naturally a bit drier.  I also was constantly trying to avoid acne scarring by taking good care of the acne that cropped up right away.

I also made sure that I washed my face every single night before I went to bed. I never, ever skipped a night of washing my face because I knew that my face could break out at the drop of a hat.  Also, not washing your face at night and applying the proper products as well could trigger irritation.

So that is one benefit of having problem skin at a younger age, it pretty much forces your hand at learning how to take care of your skin properly at a younger age than those who never had issues with their skin.

The digital photo imaging I did was using a special light, it almost seemed like a black light in some ways, that I had to put my face under for a certain amount of time. It then came back with a faded image of my face, which looked like an infrared picture.

It showed the areas of my face where I had sun damage in highlighted circles, and also some areas where I had other imperfections. It was all right there, in your face so to speak, so you couldn’t ignore what your problems areas were.

I thought this was a really fascinating read, so I decided to share it with all my readers. It’s an advanced scientific development that sounds like something out of a science fiction movie actually, and it made me think of how far we’ve come in just a few decades when it comes to medical and technological breakthroughs. In fact, it’s downright scary how fast our technology is accelerating sometimes!

This new technology was actually developed with the US soldiers who are out on the battlefield and wounded during their patriotic duties as a soldier. Particularly, it deals with the soldiers who are burned or have skin trauma of some sort.

The new technology was actually inspired by your typical household laser printer, in that it uses the same sort of theory in “printing” in small layers, to the burnt area, new skin cells which are able to essentially graft themselves on to the traumatized area, and cause more, healthy skin cells to cover the area, causing a much faster recovery.

This could also have huge implications for us in the civilian world as well, and may evolve into the world of dermatology, where people with other skin conditions which cause deterioration or need rapid repair may benefit from this type of technology as well.

The process would go something like this. The patient has a sample of skin taken from them using a chemical solution of some sort.  It’s a very small sample, so that sample itself is not traumatic.

The skin cells that are taken from the patient are then replicated in a customized environment which allows them to grow and multiply at an accelerated place, but safely, producing normal and healthy skin cells.

Here’s the REALLY fascinating part. Once the process is perfected, since the “printer” is building layer after fine layer of new skin cells in a very rapid and efficient way, almost just as the body does itself, but only in a highly accelerated fashion, the patient may actually have new skin in as little as a few hours.

This process literally may give a patient new skin in one day over the area that has been burnt or otherwise traumatized.  Now that my friends, is truly an amazing scientific advance if ever there was one.

I’m wondering if this might ever have an application in the world of advanced acne scarring reduction?  I think it would be outrageously expensive, but it may really offer some excellent results if it worked with these other patients.

I talked about lasers earlier this week, and how they are being used a lot now to help treat difficult rosacea and acne rosacea because they can help to shrink or completely get rid of broken capillaries and easily irritated tiny vessels in the face, which all contribute to the redness and irritated look of rosacea.

Well, these laser treatments for acne scarring and other types of scarring can also can be helpful for deeper, more severe acne scarring as well. There are a couple different types of lasers, and some of them are actually approved for use on acne scarring and helping to smooth the overall appearance of skin which has suffered acne scarring.

You can usually tell if someone had a lot of deeply rooted, cystic acne in their youth, because they often have icepick and pitted scarring, which is where the skin depresses down or sort of puckers where the previous acne lesion was. This especially can happen when you pick at an acne lesion a lot, or when you pop a zit before it is truly ready to be extracted.

For this reason, it is only recommended that you use gentle extraction techniques when a pimple is TRULY ready to pop, which you can usually tell by looking at it because it will have a completely white head and look like it is about to burst on it’s own (gross I know, but hey, these are the facts of living life with acne!)

Some lasers that are used in skin resurfacing can also be of benefit for acne scarring as well. Because they can literally blast away several layers of skin at one time though, these types of deeper lasers are often reserved only for those that are serious about getting results but are also willing to suffer some discomfort, pain and downtime because of the peeling and redness that occurs afterwards, almost making the patient look like they have been burned.

There are of course other options for acne scarring treatments that you can use in your own home, which is what I recommend, because you can use them as often as you’d like without being charged outrageous spa or dermatologist prices and without getting extremely irritated skin or possibly suffering skin damage from more serious treatments.

This is one of the best ways to get rid of acne scarring, in your own home, knowing the limits of your own skin, and being able to tailor the treatments to your own skin.

I thought it was time to add a new page about acne scarring, since this is one of the top concerns of those who have, or have had, acne at some point in their life. The good news is that there are great at-home remedies that can soften and help heal scars as well as help the color blend into the skin better, which work very well.
See our new page “The Best Way to Get Rid of Acne Scars“